A new £17.3 million A&E department in Scunthorpe has opened with 'state of the art' facilities and updated technology. The new site comes as part of a £101 million investment into the Trust which saw a similar building constructed at Grimsby's Diana Princess of Wales Hospital last year . The build is double the size of the previous facility and has been equipped to give patients the best possible experience. New ambulance hand over bays and Urgent Care Centres aim to help cope with the added pressure that the trust admits they have been under in recent times. For Northern Lincolnshire and Goole Trust CEO Peter Reading, this was the next piece in the puzzle. Read more: Barton interchange will get toilets, council leader promises He said: "In the simplest terms, the old building was constructed decades ago when health care was very different to what it is now. This is double the size of the previous department, which was often very cramped. "We wanted the area to be modern and have the most up to date equipment we could and that's what we've got. In time, we are also hoping to link various parts of the hospital to allow things to run smoothly, rather than people having to walk ages to get to another part of their care. "This comes as an advantage to everyone." However, he also admitted that new buildings will not solve waiting times. "Buildings in themselves do not reduce waiting times. Unfortunately, we haven't seen a reduction in waiting times yet and we don't expect this to solve it. "There are a large number of patients waiting, but this allows us to have more space for them. The reality is we're as busy as ever and we're doing really well in terms of ambulance handover times, but we still have problems. Having said that, we're in a much better place than we have been before." Northern Lincolnshire and Goole Trust CEO Peter Reading hopes this will be the next piece of the puzzle (Image: GrimsbyLive/Donna Clifford) Jug Johal, Senior Responsible Officer for the project and Director of Estates and Facilities, is very proud of what he and the team have achieved. He said: “I am incredibly proud of the works we’re doing to improve our emergency care facilities across Northern Lincolnshire. “It will always be our number one priority to give you excellent care, and this new unit doesn’t just look fantastic, but will give our teams the space, facilities, and equipment they need to provide this. I want to take this opportunity to thank everyone who has been involved in getting us to this stage, from the clinical staff who have been instrumental in getting the finer details right, to all our teams who have been working flat out to get everything ready for today." Those clinical staff who have been working hard include the likes of Operational Matron Zoe Powell-Wiffen. "We're all really excited and it feels like it's been a long time coming, but we're glad to be at a point where we can give patients the care they deserve." Dr. Anwer Qureshi thinks the new department has offered many opportunities to the people of Scunthorpe (Image: GrimsbyLive/Donna Clifford) She added: "My favourite thing about the centre is that it provides a comfortable area for patients where they can feel comfortable, but it also has everything we need to do our jobs to the highest degree." For Divisional Medical Director for Medicine, Anwer Quareshi, the impact this will have on the people of Scunthorpe is brilliant. "For the people of Scunthorpe, it will mean they can be looked after in a better Emergency Department compared to the previous one which was too crowded. "This new department will be much better from that perspective and, along with that, it has created employment opportunities for local people too. On a similar note, it has attracted other staff to the area from elsewhere." READ NEXT Parents of man who tragically died aged 31 seal promise from health minister Wootton residents 'devastated' as appeal allows 38 new homes to go ahead Dad of three given just months to live after late terminal
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